JP2005292740A - Electronic camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase the ISO sensitivity in order to prevent camera shake, or to increase the aperture in program shooting mode or aperture priority mode, because the shutter speed is set to be slow. The camera shake is prevented from occurring by reducing the value of.
In an electronic camera having a plurality of shooting modes and including a shutter speed changing device, an aperture changing device, an ISO sensitivity changing device, and a lens information acquisition device, the photographer inputs his / her technique. When the camera shake is judged by the camera shake judgment device, the ISO sensitivity upper limit input device for inputting the upper limit of the ISO sensitivity, the camera sensitivity judgment device for judging the camera shake, and the camera shake judgment device. An electronic camera comprising an ISO sensitivity automatic changing device for changing to an appropriate value.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic camera that captures, records, and plays back still images and moving images.

  Conventionally, electronic cameras for recording and reproducing still images and moving images taken with a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD using a memory card having a solid-state memory device as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-101891 have already been released. Has been.

  Electronic cameras that can exchange lenses are also available. Among the lenses, lenses that prevent camera shake by a photographer are also on the market.

  A tripod for fixing and using the electronic camera is also sold.

According to these electronic cameras, lenses, and tripods, camera shake can be prevented even when the shutter speed is slow, so that shooting without failure is possible.
JP 2000-101891 A

  In the electronic camera, the means for preventing camera shake is limited to the use of a lens for preventing camera shake, the use of a tripod, or the photographer's skill improvement.

  According to the present invention, a shooting mode selection device having a plurality of shooting modes and selecting the plurality of shooting modes, a shutter speed changing device for changing the shutter speed (Tv), and an aperture changing device for changing the aperture (Av). In an electronic camera having an ISO sensitivity changing device for changing ISO sensitivity and a device capable of acquiring lens information, a photographer's technical input device for inputting his / her technique, and ISO sensitivity for inputting an upper limit of ISO sensitivity By providing an upper limit input device, a camera shake determination device that determines camera shake, and an ISO sensitivity automatic change device that automatically changes the ISO sensitivity to an appropriate value when camera shake is determined by the camera shake determination device, Camera shake can be prevented.

As can be easily understood from the above description, according to the present invention,
1. In an electronic camera equipped with an aperture-priority shooting mode, when the shutter speed is determined to be slow, the shutter speed can be increased by increasing the ISO sensitivity, and camera shake can be prevented.

  2. In an electronic camera equipped with a program shooting mode, when the shutter speed has been determined to be slow, the shutter speed can be increased by alternately increasing the ISO sensitivity and increasing the Av value. Can be prevented.

  3. The photographer can easily input his / her skill into the camera and can prevent camera shake in accordance with the photographer's technique.

  4). Since the photographer can determine the upper limit of the ISO sensitivity by himself, the ISO sensitivity is not set to a value not intended by the photographer.

  5). When the ISO sensitivity is changed to an appropriate value, the photographer can easily know that the ISO sensitivity has been changed because it has a warning display screen that warns of the changed value.

  6). The photographer can determine the upper limit of the ISO sensitivity by himself / herself, and the ISO sensitivity is automatically changed within the range, so that the camera shake can be prevented without performing a troublesome operation.

(Example)
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes an image processing apparatus.

  Reference numeral 10 denotes a photographing lens, 12 denotes a shutter having a diaphragm function, 14 denotes an image sensor that converts an optical image into an electrical signal, and 16 denotes an A / D converter that converts an analog signal output from the image sensor 14 into a digital signal.

  A timing generation circuit 18 supplies a clock signal and a control signal to the image sensor 14, the A / D converter 16, and the D / A converter 26, and is controlled by the memory control circuit 22 and the system control circuit 50.

  An image processing circuit 20 performs predetermined pixel interpolation processing and color conversion processing on the data from the A / D converter 16 or the data from the memory control circuit 22.

  Further, the image processing circuit 20 performs predetermined calculation processing using the captured image data, and the system control circuit 50 controls the exposure control means 40 and the distance measurement control means 42 based on the obtained calculation result. TTL (through-the-lens) AF (autofocus) processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, and EF (flash pre-emission) processing are performed.

  Further, the image processing circuit 20 performs predetermined arithmetic processing using captured image data, and also performs TTL AWB (auto white balance) processing based on the obtained arithmetic result.

  A memory control circuit 22 controls the A / D converter 16, the timing generation circuit 18, the image processing circuit 20, the image display memory 24, the D / A converter 26, the memory 30, and the compression / decompression circuit 32.

  The data of the A / D converter 16 is written into the image display memory 24 or the memory 30 via the image processing circuit 20 and the memory control circuit 22 or the data of the A / D converter 16 is directly passed through the memory control circuit 22. It is.

  Reference numeral 24 denotes an image display memory, 26 denotes a D / A converter, 28 denotes an image display unit comprising a TFT LCD, and the display image data written in the image display memory 24 is passed through the D / A converter 26. Displayed by the image display unit 28.

  If the image data captured using the image display unit 28 is sequentially displayed, the electronic viewfinder function can be realized.

  The image display unit 28 can arbitrarily turn on / off the display according to an instruction from the system control circuit 50. When the display is turned off, the power consumption of the image processing apparatus 100 can be greatly reduced. Can do.

  Reference numeral 30 denotes a memory for storing captured still images and moving images, and has a sufficient storage capacity to store a predetermined number of still images and a predetermined time of moving images.

  This makes it possible to write a large amount of images to the memory 30 at high speed even in continuous shooting or panoramic shooting in which a plurality of still images are continuously shot.

  The memory 30 can also be used as a work area for the system control circuit 50.

  A compression / decompression circuit 32 compresses and decompresses image data by adaptive discrete cosine transform (ADCT) or the like, reads an image stored in the memory 30, performs compression processing or decompression processing, and stores the processed data in the memory 30. Write to.

  Reference numeral 40 denotes an exposure control means for controlling the shutter 12 having a diaphragm function, and has a flash light control function in cooperation with the flash 48.

  Reference numeral 42 denotes a distance measuring control means for controlling the focusing of the photographing lens 10, reference numeral 44 denotes a zoom control means for controlling zooming of the photographing lens 10, and reference numeral 46 denotes a barrier control means for controlling the operation of the protection means 102 as a barrier.

  A flash 48 has an AF auxiliary light projecting function and a flash light control function. The exposure control means 40 and the distance measurement control means 42 are controlled using the TTL method. Based on the calculation result obtained by calculating the captured image data by the image processing circuit 20, the system control circuit 50 performs the exposure control means 40 and the distance measurement. Control is performed on the control means 42.

  Reference numeral 50 denotes a system control circuit that controls the entire image processing apparatus 100, and reference numeral 52 denotes a memory that stores constants, variables, programs, and the like for operation of the system control circuit 50.

  Reference numeral 54 denotes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display device or a speaker that displays an operation state or a message using characters, images, sounds, or the like in accordance with execution of a program in the system control circuit 50. One or a plurality of locations are provided near the portion where they are easily visible, and are configured by a combination of, for example, an LCD, an LED, and a sounding element. In addition, the display unit 54 is partially installed in the optical viewfinder 104.

  Among the display contents of the display unit 54, what is displayed on the LCD or the like includes single shot / continuous shooting display, self-timer display, compression rate display, number of recorded pixels, number of recorded pixels, number of remaining images that can be captured, shutter Speed display, Aperture value display, Exposure compensation display, Flash display, Red-eye reduction display, Macro shooting display, Buzzer setting display, Clock battery level display, Battery level display, Error display, Multi-digit number information display and recording There are a display state of the media 200 and 210, a communication I / F operation display, a date / time display, and the like.

  Among the display contents of the display unit 54, what is displayed in the optical viewfinder 104 includes in-focus display, camera shake warning display, flash charge display, shutter speed display, aperture value display, exposure correction display, and the like.

  Reference numeral 56 denotes an electrically erasable / recordable nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM.

  Reference numerals 60, 62, 64, 66, 68 and 70 are operation means for inputting various operation instructions of the system control circuit 50, and may be a single unit such as a switch, a dial, a touch panel, pointing by line-of-sight detection, a voice recognition device, or the like. Consists of multiple combinations.

  Here, a specific description of these operating means will be given.

  Reference numeral 60 denotes a mode dial switch, which can switch and set various function modes such as power-off, automatic shooting mode, shooting mode, panoramic shooting mode, playback mode, multi-screen playback / erase mode, and PC connection mode.

  Reference numeral 62 denotes a shutter switch SW1, which is turned ON during the operation of a shutter button (not shown), and performs AF (auto focus) processing, AE (auto exposure) processing, AWB (auto white balance) processing, EF (flash pre-flash) processing, and the like. Instruct to start operation.

  Reference numeral 64 denotes a shutter switch SW2, which is turned on when the operation of a shutter button (not shown) is completed, and an exposure process for writing a signal read from the image sensor 12 to the memory 30 via the A / D converter 16 and the memory control circuit 22. Development processing using operations in the image processing circuit 20 and the memory control circuit 22, recording processing for reading image data from the memory 30, compression in the compression / decompression circuit 32, and writing the image data to the recording medium 200 or 210. Instructs the start of a series of processing operations.

  Reference numeral 66 denotes an image display ON / OFF switch which can set ON / OFF of the image display unit 28.

  With this function, when photographing using the optical viewfinder 104, it is possible to save power by cutting off the current supply to the image display unit such as a TFT LCD.

  Reference numeral 68 denotes a quick review ON / OFF switch, which sets a quick review function for automatically reproducing image data taken immediately after photographing. In this embodiment, it is assumed that a function for setting the quick review function when the image display unit 28 is turned off is provided.

  Reference numeral 70 denotes an operation unit composed of various buttons, a touch panel, and the like. A menu button, a set button, a macro button, a multi-screen playback page break button, a flash setting button, a single shooting / continuous shooting / self-timer switching button, menu movement + (plus) Button, menu shift- (minus) button, playback image shift + (plus) button, playback image- (minus) button, shooting image quality selection button, exposure correction button, date / time setting button, and the like.

  Reference numeral 72 denotes a power switch that can switch and set the power-on and power-off modes of the image processing apparatus 100. Also, the power on and power off settings of various accessory devices such as the lens unit 300, the external strobe, and the recording media 200 and 210 connected to the image processing apparatus 100 can be switched and set together.

  A photographer's technical input switch 74 is used by the photographer to input his technical level.

  75 is an ISO sensitivity upper limit input switch, and the photographer himself defines and inputs an upper limit of ISO sensitivity.

  Reference numeral 76 denotes an ISO sensitivity automatic changing device that changes the value to an appropriate value when it is desired to increase the ISO sensitivity to prevent camera shake.

  Reference numeral 77 denotes an apparatus for determining whether or not camera shake prevention occurs in the camera shake determination apparatus.

  Reference numeral 78 denotes a tripod detection switch, which can detect and switch between modes that are on when the tripod is used and off when the tripod is not used.

  Reference numeral 80 denotes a power supply control means, which includes a battery detection circuit, a DC-DC converter, a switch circuit for switching a block to be energized, etc., and detects the presence / absence of a battery, the type of battery, the remaining battery level, and the detection result In addition, the DC-DC converter is controlled based on an instruction from the system control circuit 50, and a necessary voltage is supplied to each unit including the recording medium for a necessary period.

  Reference numeral 82 denotes a connector, 84 denotes a connector, and 86 denotes a primary battery such as an alkaline battery or a lithium battery, a secondary battery such as a NiCd battery, a NiMH battery, or a Li battery, an AC adapter, or the like.

  90 and 94 are interfaces with a recording medium such as a memory card or a hard disk, 92 and 96 are connectors for connecting to a recording medium such as a memory card or a hard disk, and 98 is a recording medium 200 or 210 attached to the connector 92 or 96. Recording medium attachment / detachment detecting means for detecting whether or not the recording medium is present.

  In this embodiment, it is assumed that there are two interfaces and connectors for attaching the recording medium. Of course, the interface and the connector for attaching the recording medium may have a single or a plurality of systems, any number of systems. Moreover, it is good also as a structure provided with combining the interface and connector of a different standard.

  The interface and the connector may be configured using a PCMCIA card, a CF (Compact Flash (registered trademark)) card, or the like based on a standard.

  In addition, when the interfaces 90 and 94 and the connectors 92 and 96 are configured using a PCMCIA card, a CF (Compact Flash (registered trademark)) card, or the like, a LAN card, a modem card, a USB card, IEEE1394. By connecting various types of communication cards such as cards, P1284 cards, SCSI cards, PHS and other communication cards, image data and management information attached to image data can be transferred to and from peripheral devices such as other computers and printers. Can fit.

  Reference numeral 102 denotes protection means that is a barrier that prevents the imaging unit from being soiled or damaged by covering the imaging unit including the lens 10 of the image processing apparatus 100.

  Reference numeral 104 denotes an optical viewfinder, which can perform photographing using only the optical viewfinder without using the electronic viewfinder function of the image display unit 28. Further, in the optical viewfinder 104, some functions of the display unit 54, for example, a focus display, a camera shake warning display, a flash charge display, a shutter speed display, an aperture value display, an exposure correction display, and the like are installed.

  A communication unit 110 has various communication functions such as RS232C, USB, IEEE1394, P1284, SCSI, modem, LAN, and wireless communication.

  Reference numeral 112 denotes a connector for connecting the image processing apparatus 100 to another device by the communication unit 110 or an antenna in the case of wireless communication.

  Reference numeral 200 denotes a recording medium such as a memory card or a hard disk.

  The recording medium 200 includes a recording unit 202 composed of a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, or the like, an interface 204 with the image processing apparatus 100, and a connector 206 for connecting to the image processing apparatus 100.

  Reference numeral 210 denotes a recording medium such as a memory card or a hard disk.

  The recording medium 210 includes a recording unit 212 composed of a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, and the like, an interface 214 with the image processing apparatus 100, and a connector 216 that connects to the image processing apparatus 100.

  The operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  2 and 3 show a flowchart of the main routine of the image processing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment.

  The operation of the image processing apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  Upon power-on such as battery replacement, the system control circuit 50 initializes flags, control variables, and the like, and performs predetermined initial settings necessary for each unit of the image processing apparatus 100 (S101).

  The system control circuit 50 determines the setting position of the power switch 72, and if the power switch 72 is set to power OFF (S102), the display on each display unit is changed to the end state, and flags, control variables, etc. Required parameters, setting values, and setting modes including the image display unit 28 are recorded in the non-volatile memory 56, and a predetermined end process such as shutting off unnecessary power sources of the respective units of the image processing apparatus 100 including the image display unit 28 by the power control unit 80 is performed. After that (S103), the process returns to S102.

  If the power switch 72 is set to ON (S102), the system control circuit 50 determines that the remaining capacity and operation status of the power source 86 constituted by a battery or the like by the power source control means 80 is the operation of the image processing apparatus 100. It is determined whether or not there is a problem (S104). If there is a problem, a predetermined warning is displayed by an image or sound using the display unit 54 (S105), and the process returns to S102.

  If there is no problem with the power supply 86 (S104), the system control circuit 50 determines the setting position of the mode dial 60. If the mode dial 60 is set to the shooting mode (S106), the process proceeds to S108.

  If the mode dial 60 has been set to another mode (S106), the system control circuit 50 executes processing corresponding to the selected mode (S107), and returns to S102 when the processing is completed.

  The system control circuit 50 determines whether or not the recording medium 200 or 210 is mounted, acquires management information of image data recorded on the recording medium 200 or 210, and determines whether the operation state of the recording medium 200 or 210 is image processing. It is determined whether or not there is a problem in the operation of the apparatus 100, particularly the recording / reproducing operation of the image data with respect to the recording medium (S108), and if there is a problem, a predetermined warning is displayed by an image or sound using the display unit 54. After performing (S105), it returns to S102.

  Determination of whether or not the recording medium 200 or 210 is installed, acquisition of management information of the image data recorded on the recording medium 200 or 210, and the operation state of the recording medium 200 or 210 is the operation of the image processing apparatus 100, particularly As a result of determining whether there is a problem in the recording / reproducing operation of the image data with respect to the recording medium (S108), if there is no problem, the process proceeds to S100.

  The photographer inputs his / her photographing technique through the photographer technique input switch 74 (S100). Examples of the photographing technique include advanced, intermediate, and elementary classes. For the photographer's technical input, for example, a liquid crystal monitor is used so that the photographer can easily set. FIG. 10A schematically shows an example of a setting method using a liquid crystal monitor.

  With the ISO upper limit input switch 75, the photographer himself sets and inputs the upper limit of the ISO sensitivity (S100). For the input of the upper limit of the ISO sensitivity, for example, a photographer can easily set using an LCD monitor or the like. FIG. 10-2 briefly shows an example of a setting method using a liquid crystal monitor.

  If the various user settings are completed, the process proceeds to S109.

  The system control circuit 50 acquires the setting content. The setting contents acquired here include whether the Av priority mode is set, whether it is not, whether a tripod is used, whether it is an IS lens, whether it is used, the focal length of the lens used, This is technical level information of the photographer. Details of the setting content acquisition S109 will be described later with reference to FIG. The acquired setting contents are stored in the internal memory or the memory 52 of the system control circuit 50.

  If the shutter switch SW1 is not pressed (S121), the process returns to S102.

  If the shutter switch SW1 is pressed (S121), the system control circuit 50 performs a distance measurement process to focus the photographing lens 10 on the subject, performs a photometry process, and determines an aperture value and a shutter time. Distance / photometry processing is performed (S122), and the process proceeds to S123. In the photometric process, the flash is set if necessary.

  Details of the distance measurement / photometry processing S122 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  If the camera shake function flag stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit or the memory 52 is ON (S123), the system control circuit 50 proceeds to S124. If the camera shake function flag is OFF (S123), the process proceeds to S127.

  The system control circuit 50 is stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit or the memory 52. The Av priority mode is set, is not used, a tripod is used, is not used, an IS lens is used, or not Alternatively, camera shake is determined based on the focal length of the lens being used, the technical level information of the photographer, and the shutter speed obtained in S122 (S124).

  Details of the camera shake determination S124 will be described later with reference to FIG.

If camera shake is not determined (S124), the process proceeds to S127.
If camera shake is determined (S124), ISO sensitivity is automatically changed to an appropriate value that can prevent camera shake (S125). At this time, an ISO sensitivity change warning is displayed on, for example, the ILC to indicate to the photographer that the ISO sensitivity has been automatically changed (S126).

  Details of this ISO sensitivity automatic change S125 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  As described above, when camera shake is determined in S124, the shutter speed is increased by automatically changing to an appropriate ISO sensitivity, and camera shake can be prevented.

  If the shutter switch SW2 is not pressed (S127), the current process is repeated until the shutter switch SW1 is released (S128).

  If the shutter switch SW1 is released (S128), the process returns to S102.

  If the shutter switch SW2 is pressed (S127), the system control circuit 50 determines whether or not the memory 30 has an image storage buffer area capable of storing the captured image data (S129), and stores the image in the memory 30. If there is no area where new image data can be stored in the buffer area, a predetermined warning is displayed by means of an image or sound using the display unit 54 (S130), and the process returns to S102.

  For example, immediately after performing the maximum number of continuous shots that can be stored in the image storage buffer area of the memory 30, the first image to be read from the memory 30 and written to the storage medium 200 or 210 is still in the recording medium 200 or 210. An example of this state is an unrecorded state where one empty area cannot be secured in the image storage buffer area of the memory 30 yet.

  When the captured image data is compressed and stored in the image storage buffer area of the memory 30, it can be stored in consideration of the fact that the amount of compressed image data varies depending on the compression mode setting. In S129, it is determined whether the area is on the image storage buffer area of the memory 30.

  If there is an image storage buffer area capable of storing the image data captured in the memory 30 (S129), the system control circuit 50 reads out the image signal that has been imaged and accumulated for a predetermined time from the image sensor 12, and performs A / D conversion. The photographing process for writing the photographed image data in a predetermined area of the memory 30 is executed via the memory 16, the image processing circuit 20, the memory control circuit 22, or directly from the A / D converter via the memory control circuit 22 ( S130).

  Details of the photographing process S131 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  If the photographing process S131 is completed, the process proceeds to S132.

  The system control circuit 50 reads out part of the image data written in a predetermined area of the memory 30 via the memory control circuit 22 and performs WB (white balance) integration calculation processing OB ( Optical black) Integration calculation processing is performed, and the calculation result is stored in the internal memory or the memory 52 of the system control circuit 50.

  The system control circuit 50 reads the captured image data written in a predetermined area of the memory 30 using the memory control circuit 22 and, if necessary, the image processing circuit 20, and stores the internal memory or memory of the system control circuit 50. Various development processes including an AWB (auto white balance) process, a gamma conversion process, and a color conversion process are performed using the calculation result stored in 52 (S132).

  Further, in the development processing, dark correction calculation processing for canceling dark current noise and the like of the image sensor 14 is also performed by performing subtraction processing using the dark image data captured in the dark capturing processing.

  Then, the system control circuit 50 reads the image data written in the predetermined area of the memory 30 and performs the image compression processing according to the set mode by the compression / decompression circuit 32 (S133), and the image storage buffer of the memory 30 Image data that has been photographed and completed a series of processing is written in the empty image portion of the area.

  Along with execution of a series of photographing, the system control circuit 50 reads out the image data stored in the image storage buffer area of the memory 30, and the memory card or compact flash (registration) via the interface 90 or 94 and the connector 92 or 96. A recording process for writing to the recording medium 200 or 210 such as a trademark card is started (S134).

  This recording start process is performed on the image data every time new image data that has been shot and finished a series of processes is newly written in the empty image portion of the image storage buffer area of the memory 30.

  Note that while writing image data to the recording medium 200 or 210, in order to clearly indicate that the writing operation is being performed, the display unit 54 performs a recording medium writing operation display such as blinking an LED.

  The system control circuit 50 determines whether the shutter switch SW1 is pressed (S135).

  If the shutter switch SW1 has been released (S135), the process returns to S102.

  If the shutter switch SW1 has been pressed (S135), the process returns to S135, and the current processing is repeated until SW1 is released.

  FIG. 4 shows a detailed flowchart of setting content acquisition in S109 of FIG.

  In acquiring the setting contents, various signals are exchanged between the system control circuit 50 and the lens control unit 350 through the interface 120, the connector 122, the connector 322, and the interface 320.

  The system control circuit 50 checks the setting state of the shooting mode dial and the switch 60 (S110), and if it is set to the Av priority mode, sets the Av priority mode flag (S111) and is set to other than the Av priority mode. If so, the Av priority mode flag is canceled (S112). If the program mode is set, the program mode flag is set (S510). If the program mode is set to other than the program mode, the program mode flag is canceled (S112). Next, the state of the tripod detection switch 78 is checked (S113). If tripod use is detected, a tripod use flag is set (S114). If tripod use is not detected, the tripod use flag is cleared. (S115).

  Next, lens information is acquired from the lens control means 350 (S116). If the IS lens is used, an IS lens use flag is set (S117). If the IS lens is not used, the IS lens use flag is cleared and the process proceeds to S118.

  The focal length information of the lens used by the lens control unit 350 is acquired (S118), the level information of the photographer is acquired from the photographer technology input switch 74 (S119), and the ISO sensitivity is input from the ISO sensitivity upper limit input switch 75. An upper limit is acquired (S120).

  It is assumed that the photographer level information (S119) and the ISO sensitivity upper limit information (S120) are already set by the user input (S100) in FIG.

  Subsequently, a camera shake function flag is set. If the Av priority mode is OFF (S112), a tripod is used (S114), or an IS lens is used (S117), the camera shake function flag is set to OFF (S130). ). In cases other than S130, the camera shake function flag is set to ON. The setting contents acquired or set are stored in the internal memory or the memory 52 of the system control circuit 50.

  When all the information has been acquired, the setting content acquisition routine S109 ends.

  FIG. 5 shows a detailed flowchart of the distance measurement / photometry process in S122 of FIG.

  In the distance measurement / photometry processing, the exchange of various signals between the system control circuit 50 and the aperture control means 340 or the distance measurement control means 342 is performed by the interface 120, the connector 122, the connector 322, the interface 320, and the lens control means. 350.

  The system control circuit 50 starts an AF (autofocus) process using the image sensor 14 distance measuring means 42 and the distance measuring control means 342 (S201).

  The system control circuit 50 causes the light beam incident on the lens 310 to enter the distance measuring means 42 through the stop 312, the lens mounts 306 and 106, the mirror 130, and the distance measuring sub mirror (not shown), thereby forming an optical image. The focus state of the formed image is determined, and the distance measuring means 42 is moved while driving the lens 310 using the distance control means 342 until the distance measurement (AF) is determined to be in focus (S203). The AF control for detecting the in-focus state is executed (S202).

  If ranging (AF) is determined to be in focus (S203), the system control circuit 50 determines a focused distance point from a plurality of distance measuring points on the shooting screen, and the determined distance measuring point. The distance measurement data and / or setting parameters are stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 52 together with the data, and the process proceeds to S205.

  Subsequently, the system control circuit 50 starts an AE (automatic exposure) process using the photometry means 46 (S205).

  The system control circuit 50 causes the light beam incident on the lens 310 to enter the photometric means 46 through the stop 312, the lens mounts 306 and 106, the mirrors 130 and 132, and a photometric lens (not shown), thereby forming an optical image. The exposure state of the formed image is measured, and photometric processing is performed using the exposure control means 40 (S206) until the exposure (AE) is determined to be appropriate (S206).

  If it is determined that the exposure (AE) is appropriate (S207), the system control circuit 50 stores the photometric data and / or the setting parameters in the internal memory or the memory 52 of the system control circuit 50, and proceeds to S208.

  The system control circuit 50 determines the aperture value (Av value) and shutter speed (Tv value) according to the exposure (AE) result detected in the photometric process S206 and the shooting mode set by the mode dial 60. .

  Then, according to the shutter speed (Tv value) determined here, the system control circuit 50 determines the charge accumulation time of the image sensor 14, and performs the photographing process and the dark capturing process with the same charge accumulation time.

  Based on the measurement data obtained in the photometric process S206, the system control circuit 50 determines whether or not a flash is necessary (S208), sets a flash flag if the flash is necessary, and until the flash 48 is completely charged (S210). ) And charge the flash 48 (S209).

  If charging of the flash 48 is completed (S210), the distance measurement / photometry processing routine S122 is terminated.

  FIG. 6 shows a detailed flowchart of the camera shake determination in S123 of FIG.

  The camera shake determination is performed via the system control circuit 50 and the camera shake determination device 77.

  The lens information stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 52 is read (S401). Next, photographer technical level information is read (S402).

  The shutter speed (Tv value) at which camera shake occurs is determined. Here, for example, the shutter speed (Tv value) at which camera shake occurs is defined as 1 / focal length as a standard (S403). The focal length is acquired in S401. The shutter speed (Tv value) at which the camera shake determined as the standard is generated is changed based on the photographer's technical level information acquired in S402. For example, if the input can be acquired as advanced, the shutter speed (Tv value) at which camera shake occurs is set slower than the standard (S403), and if the input at the beginner level is acquired, camera shake occurs. The shutter speed (Tv value) to be set is set faster than the standard (S403).

  Next, the shutter speed (Tv value) (S404) determined by photometry / ranging (S122) in FIG. 3 is compared with the shutter speed (Tv value) at which the camera shake occurs. If the shutter speed (S404) determined in S122 is slower than the shutter speed (S403) at which camera shake occurs, it is determined that camera shake has occurred and the camera shake determination routine S123 is terminated. If the shutter speed (S404) determined in S122 is faster than the shutter speed (S403) at which the camera shake occurs, it is determined that the camera shake does not occur, and the camera shake determination routine S123 ends.

  FIG. 7 shows a detailed flowchart of the ISO sensitivity automatic change in S125 of FIG.

  Note that the camera shake determination is performed via the system control circuit 50 and the ISO sensitivity automatic change device 76.

  The ISO sensitivity upper limit information stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 52 is read (S422). If the ISO sensitivity (S421) set by the initial setting (S101) in FIG. 2 coincides with the ISO sensitivity upper limit value read out by S422, a warning display prompting the change of the Av value is given to, for example, the ILC, etc. Returning to S102, the ISO sensitivity changing routine S125 is terminated.

  If the ISO sensitivity (S421) set in the initial setting (S101) in FIG. 2 does not exceed the ISO sensitivity upper limit value read in S422, the ISO sensitivity is increased by one step and the process returns to S404 in FIG. The sensitivity change routine S125 ends.

  FIG. 8 shows a detailed flowchart of the photographing process in S131 of FIG.

  In the photographing process, various signals are exchanged between the system control circuit 50 and the aperture control unit 340 or the distance measurement control unit 342 via the interface 120, the connector 122, the connector 322, the interface 320, and the lens control unit 350. Done.

  The system control circuit 50 moves the mirror 130 to the mirror-up position by a mirror driving unit (not shown) (S301), and the aperture control unit 340 performs the photometry data stored in the internal memory or the memory 52 of the system control circuit 50. The diaphragm 312 is driven to a predetermined diaphragm value (S302).

The system control circuit 50 performs charge clearing operation of the image sensor 14 (S303), starts charge accumulation of the image sensor 14 (S304), opens the shutter 12 by the shutter control means 40 (S305), and performs image capturing. The exposure of the element 14 is started (S306).

  Here, it is determined whether or not the flash 48 is necessary based on the flash flag (S307), and if necessary, the flash is emitted (S308).

  The system control circuit 50 waits for the exposure of the image sensor 14 to end according to the photometric data (S309), closes the shutter 12 by the shutter control means 40 (S310), and ends the exposure of the image sensor 14.

  The system control circuit 50 drives the diaphragm 312 to the open diaphragm value by the diaphragm control means 340 (S311), and moves the mirror 130 to the mirror down position by the mirror driving means (not shown) (S312).

  If the set charge accumulation time has elapsed (S313), the system control circuit 50 reads the charge signal from the image sensor 14 after completing the charge accumulation of the image sensor 14 (S314), and the A / D converter 16, The photographed image data is written to a predetermined area of the memory 30 through the image processing circuit 20, the memory control circuit 22, or directly from the A / D converter 16 through the memory control circuit 22 (S315).

  When the series of processing is finished, the photographing processing routine S129 is finished.

(Second embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the camera shake prevention performed for the Av value priority mode for photographing with priority given to the Av value has been described. However, here, the program for photographing depending on the camera for determining the Av value and the Tv value. A description will be given of camera shake prevention performed in the shooting mode.

  This is an example when the program mode flag is set in S110 of FIG.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the characteristics of the second embodiment, and is a detailed flowchart of the ISO sensitivity change in S125 of FIG.

  The Av flag or ISO sensitivity flag stored in the internal memory of the system control circuit 50 or the memory 52 is read (S521). If the read flag is set to ISO sensitivity ON, the process proceeds to S522, and the read flag is If it is set to AvON, the process proceeds to S527. Further, it is assumed that the ISO sensitivity flag and the Av flag have the ISO sensitivity flag turned on and the Av flag turned off in the initial state.

  If the process proceeds to S522, ISO sensitivity upper limit information is read (S521).

  Steps S522 to S526 are the same as steps S423 to S425 in FIG.

  When S525 ends, the Av flag is turned on and the ISO sensitivity flag is turned off (S529).

  If the process proceeds to S527, the Av value is decreased by one step (S527). At this time, if the Av value is set to a minimum value, nothing is done. When S527 ends, the ISO sensitivity flag is turned on and the Av flag is turned off (S528).

  If the series of processes is completed in S528 or S529, the process returns to S404 in FIG. 6 and the ISO sensitivity change routine is terminated. If the series of processing is completed in S526, the process returns to S102 in FIG. 2, and the ISO sensitivity changing routine is completed.

  As described above, the ISO sensitivity is changed and the Av value is changed alternately by setting the ISO sensitivity flag and the Av flag.

It is a block diagram of a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. It is a part of flowchart of the main routine of a present Example. It is a part of flowchart of the main routine of an Example. It is a flowchart of the setting content acquisition routine of a present Example. It is a flowchart of the distance measurement and photometry routine of a present Example. It is a flowchart of a camera shake determination routine of the present embodiment. It is a flowchart of the ISO sensitivity automatic change routine of a present Example. It is a flowchart of the imaging | photography routine of a present Example. It is a flowchart of the ISO sensitivity automatic change routine of a 2nd Example. It is an example of a user setting UI screen of the present embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Shooting lens 12 Shutter 14 Image pick-up element 16 A / D converter 18 Timing generation circuit 20 Image processing circuit 22 Memory control circuit 24 Image display memory 26 D / A converter 28 Image display part 30 Memory 32 Image compression / decompression circuit 40 Exposure Control unit 42 Distance control unit 44 Zoom control unit 46 Barrier control unit 48 Flash 50 System control circuit 52 Memory 54 Display unit 56 Non-volatile memory 60 Mode dial switch 62 Shutter switch SW1
64 Shutter switch SW2
66 Image display ON / OFF switch 68 Quick review ON / OFF switch 70 Operation unit 74 Photographer technical input switch 76 ISO sensitivity automatic change device 78 Tripod switch 80 Power supply control means 82 Connector 84 Connector 86 Power supply means 90 Interface 92 Connector 94 Interface 96 Connector 98 Recording medium attachment / detachment detection means 100 Image processing apparatus 102 Protection means 104 Optical finder 110 Communication means 112 Connector (or antenna)
200 Recording Medium 202 Recording Unit 204 Interface 206 Connector 210 Recording Medium 212 Recording Unit 214 Interface 216 Connector

Claims (8)

  A shooting mode selection device that has a plurality of shooting modes and selects each of the plurality of shooting modes, a shutter speed change device that changes the shutter speed (Tv), an aperture change device that changes the aperture (Av), and ISO sensitivity In an electronic camera including an ISO sensitivity changing device to be changed and a lens information acquisition device capable of acquiring lens information, a photographer's technology level input device for inputting his / her technique, and an ISO for inputting an upper limit of ISO sensitivity A sensitivity upper limit input device, a camera shake determination device that determines camera shake, and an ISO sensitivity automatic change device that automatically changes the ISO sensitivity to an appropriate value when camera shake is determined by the camera shake determination device. A featured electronic camera.   The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of shooting modes is an aperture priority (Av priority) mode.   The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of shooting modes is a program shooting mode in which an aperture (Av) and a shutter speed (Tv) are determined on the camera side.   2. The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein the photographer judges his / her own skill and inputs the level of the photographer's skill level input device on a display screen such as a liquid crystal monitor.   The electronic camera according to claim 1, wherein the photographer can operate the ISO sensitivity upper limit input device for inputting an upper limit value of the ISO sensitivity on a display screen such as a liquid crystal monitor.   The electronic camera according to claim 1, further comprising: a camera shake determination device that determines whether camera shake occurs or not according to the lens information acquisition device, the technology input device, and a shutter speed.   In each of the multiple shooting modes, when the camera shake is determined by the camera shake determination device and the ISO sensitivity is changed to an appropriate value by the ISO sensitivity automatic change device, a warning is given of the changed value. The electronic camera according to claim 1, further comprising a warning display screen.   The electronic camera according to claim 1, further comprising an ISO sensitivity automatic change device that automatically changes the ISO sensitivity to an appropriate value when camera shake is determined by the camera shake determination device.

Images